CoreLogic: Charlotte-area foreclosure rate inches upward

The Charlotte-area foreclosure rate increased 0.46 percent in March compared with the same month last year, making it higher than North Carolina’s rate but lower than the U.S. rate, Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic said today.

The rate for the area — defined as Charlotte, Gastonia and Rock Hill, S.C. — was 3.4 percent, up from 2.94 percent in March 2011.

North Carolina’s foreclosure rate for March was 2.54 percent, up from 2.19 the same month a year ago.

The U.S. rate for March was 3.41 percent, down from 3.54 percent in March 2011.

The mortgage delinquency rate also increased in the Charlotte area in March: 7.14 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent, up from 6.79 percent for the same period last year.

Thomas Lawing, president of Charlotte-based T.R. Lawing Realty, said that while the 0.46 percent rise in Charlotte foreclosures is small, “it just shows the foreclosures are continuing. I think the banks are simply handling them as quickly as they can.

“We need jobs and jobs and jobs in order to see that foreclosure rate decrease significantly. Nobody wants to be foreclosed. They would make the payment if they could.”